You could say that what I believe doesn't mean much to you. That really wouldn't bother me. Or you could say today is my lucky day--that you are suddenly terribly interested in my point of view--which wouldn't bother me either.

I am a Christian. I realize the uncanny power of that phrase. Use it, and you lose friends in every corner of the world before you ever have the chance to share with them. Or you find yourself among the dearest of friends, loved, accepted, and taken fully in. And there are a whole lot of in-betweens.

I'm willing to take the risk that rides shotgun to sharing your heart deeply. It's what I believe. It makes me who I am. It defines my very nature, goes through me entirely. If you peeled back the layers of me, you wouldn't always see beautiful stuff. Crap abounds. But you would see the power of Christ (wow, he's a nutcase, you're thinking), the beauty of a Peace that transcends the worst days of my life, the richness of a Joy that reaches below every other emotion I've ever felt. I'm not a happy-go-lucky guy. I don't run around the world telling people what to believe. I'm not overly prudish. I'm not that one guy who party-poops, just when things are getting fun. I'm a normal guy who just happens to love Jesus. And that love permeates every pore of my normalcy.

What do you believe? The thing is, I'm really interested. Faith is key to life. Everyone believes something special about the world, whether they realize it or not. If you've been lucky enough to discover bits and pieces of what you think is true, share it with me.